‘Alice, A New Musical’ To Debut At Edmond Town Hall

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Photo: Diane Samples

Cast members for Alice, A New Musical, shown during a recent rehearsal, include (from left) Lucas Nash (as the conductor), Halle Hunt (Ruby the Chef), Esme Miano (in costume as one of the muiltiple characters she plays) and Rachel Tomko (Subway Street Musician).

"Alice, A New Musical" at Edmond Town Hall Theatre

Location: 45 Main Street, Newtown CT 06470

Newtown’s Community Learning Project (CLP) will entertain young and old alike with their all-new musical adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s classic story about a girl caught in a mesmerizing dreamworld.

Alice, of down-the-rabbit-hole fame, is back for a brand new musical adventure in New York City in Alice, A New Musical. Familiar and new characters embark on a crazy, quirky, and fun-filled escapade on the sometimes phantasmagorical NYC Subway system. Surprises, laughs, and good music abound.

Performances are scheduled for Thursday, May 1, at 4 and 7:30 pm, and Friday, May 2, at 2 pm, in the theater at Edmond Town Hall, 45 Main Street.

Tickets will be available at the door. Suggested donation is $5 for adults, and $2 for children.

The whimsical adaptation was written by Twyla Hafferman, director of The Community Learning Project’s Performing Arts Program, in collaboration with her creatively minded young actors.

“This process has been such an exciting journey for us all,” said Ms Hafferman. “Creating something brand new is an unusual experience for such young performers, and these kids really embraced Alice with their hearts and souls.”

A new musical score has been written and arranged specifically for Alice by Francine Wheeler.

“I had so much fun developing songs for this really funny adaptation of Alice in Wonderland,” said Ms Wheeler. “I am so proud of this group of kids and their dedication to this show. The songs and music were tailored to this very special Alice adventure — with each of these actors in mind — and they make it all shine!”

Ms Hafferman is an acting and musical theatre teacher and audition coach. She received her BFA from the University of Evansville and her MFA in Acting from NYU Tisch School of the Arts. She also studied at the Moscow Arts Theatre under Tabakov.

Ms Wheeler has been working as musical director for CLP’s Performing Arts program for several years. With over twenty years of experience in theater, film, and television, Ms Wheeler brings a high level of musical professionalism to the CLP program. She has been teaching professionally for 15 years, both privately and for groups, and is currently teaching all ages piano, beginning guitar, singing and vocal production, and stage performance and audition technique.

CLP was founded by Patricia McArdle as an enrichment program for homeschooling families. Having both arranged and taught classes in science, literature, writing, art, cooking, dance, music, math, SAT prep, and history — just to name a few— Ms McArdle is no stranger to coordinating academic and artistic opportunities for homeschoolers.

The Performing Arts Program seeks to combine the magic of a homespun play with nurturing and professional voice and drama direction so as to enrich the lives of our performers, families, and audiences.